Conveyor mechanism for sugar mills



March 5, 1957 P. v. TlPPET CONVEYOR MECHANISM FOR SUGAR MILLS 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 27, 1953 INVENTOR I ATTORNEY P. V. TIPPET CONVEYOR MECHANISM FOR SUGAR MILLS March 5, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 27 1953 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS March 5, 1957 P. v. TIPPET CONVEYOR MECHANISM FOR SUGAR MILLS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 27, 1953 ATTUR NE Y5 United Sttes Patent 2,783,870 CONVEYOR MECHANISM FOR SUGAR MILLS Philip V. Tippet, Ansonia, Conn., assignor to Farrel- Birmingham Company, Incorporated, Ansonia, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application April 27, 1953, Serial No. 351,237 3 Claims. (Cl. 198-202) This invention relates to a carrier for cane mills and more particularly to a carrier designed to transport the cane from one mill to another.

In the extraction of juice from sugar cane a mass of the latter is run through a plurality of mills, these mills usually consisting of three rolls, namely, a top roll, a cane or feed roll, and a bagasse roll. Each set of these three rolls comprises what is termed a roll stand.

These stands are placed some distance apart, and a carrier is employed to transport the juicy and wet cane mass from one of these roll stands to the next succeeding one. This mass of material may be of considerable depth, sometimes up to 18 inches in depth, and is very wet in that in addition to the juice which is extracted from the cane, the material may be wet down with water in order to increase the efiiciency of the juice-extracting process.

It is advantageous to provide a carrier for transporting the cane from one mill stand to the next of such a nature that it will carry the mass of cane efiiciently, but at the same time will be permitted to slip or move underneath the mass when necessary, that is, when the forward mill is not able to handle all the cane delivered, for example. It is also desirable to have the carrier or conveyor liquid proof so that the cane juice will not leak or pass through it and, of course, so that the particles of cane will not pass through it as might be the case if the conveyor consisted of separated slats. It is also desirable that the upper run of the carrier which supports the cane mass should itself be suitably supported to prevent sagging thereof and that the conveyor belt or apron be durable in construction and that it be suitably mounted and guided for eiiicient operation.

One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved carrier to transport cane from one mill to the next.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved apron or conveyor for a carrier structure for cane mills.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a cane mill having a carrier embodying my invention, some parts being omitted for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the carrier alone;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of the carrier with the conveyor broken away to show the underlying structure;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the conveyor apron on line 55 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the conveyor apron on line 66 of Fig. 5.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown in the drawings a typical cane mill instalfrom the cane roll lation wherein are provided roll stands 10 and 11, each consisting of three rolls, a top roll 12, a cane or feed roll 13, and a bagasse roll 14. Between these mill units or roll stands a carrier is provided to'transfer the cane from one to the next.

Associated with the carrier and extending between the mill units are a pair of spaced side plates 15 (only one of which is shown in the drawings), these plates being positioned one at each side of the mill units, and the carrier or conveyor is disposed between them, as is the usual practice. My improved carrier or conveyor is generally designated by the numeral 16 and, as will be described, comprises a frame having a roller at each end about which is trained a conveyor belt or apron.

This frame may comprise a pair of side frame members 17 havifing adjustably secured at each end thereof bearing plates 18. These bearing plates are provided with elongated slots 19 to receive bolts 20 secured to the side frame members 17 so that the plates 18 may be adjusted relatively to the frame members by means of adjusting screws '21 passing through lugs 22 and bearing against the lugs 23 on the bearing plates 18. Nuts 22.

threaded upon the screw 21 hold position. I

The carrier frame may be secured in place in any desirable manner, such, for example, as by securing the frame members 17 to the side plates 15. Alternatively, the side frame members 17 may, if desired, be formed integrally with the side plates 15, but it may in some instances be found desirable to provide the carrier member as a separate unit so that it may be readily disassembled from the remaining structure if desired and so .as to facilitate the mounting of the conveyor belt upon the rolls which support it, particularly if an endless belt is employed.

the latter in adjusted Conveyor rolls or drums 24 and 25 are mounted at the the frame so that the drums may be adjusted toward and from each other in order to facilitate mounting the .belt thereon and maintaining the belt in taut condition. As shown, the drum 25 is positively driven, and for this purpose the shaft 26 of this drum carries a gear 27 driven from a chain 28 leading to -a jack shaft 29 from which in turn a sprocket chain 30 extends to and is driven 13 of the forward one of the mill units. As is also shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the carrier frame is slightly inclined upwardly so that it will properly receive the cane from one of the mill units and elevate it slightly to be delivered properly to the feed and top rolls of the next unit.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 4, each of the rolls 24 and 25 is provided with an annular guide groove 32, the purpose of which will be referred to hereinafter. Secured to the frame members 17 are transverse beams 33, and carried by the members 33 are longitudinally disposed elements 34, these members being spaced apart, as shown, and one lying upon each side of the intermediate portion of the carrier. Rotatably mounted at one end in the elements 34 and at the other end in the side plates 17 are a plurality of supporting rollers 35. These are relatively small compared to the driving drums 24 and 25 and are provided adjacent the upper edges of the side plates 17, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the upper surfaces of these rolls will lie in substantially the same plane as the upper surfaces of the drums 24 and 25.

Trained about the drums 24 and 25 is the conveyor belt or apron 36. This belt is preferably made of rubber or rubber composition, either natural or synthetic. It

the cane mass to pass therethrough. As shown in Figs.

Patented Mar. 5, 1957.

2 and 3, it is provided with a plurality of transverse slats or ribs"37, these ribs'being formed'integrally with the belt and projecting upwardly therefrom. As shown in Fig. 4, these ribs may terminateashort distance from the side edges of the beltso that the latter maybe guided betweenspaced rails 3 8. provided onthe side framemembers ,17 of ,the carrier. It will also be noted that the upper run of the conveyor belt is supported by the supporting rolls 35 rotatably vmounted in ,the carrier as shown .in Fig.3.

The transverse ribs or slats 37 of the ,belt are preferably tapered slightly in width in an upward direction so as to berslightly smaller at their upper ends, as shown more especially in Fig.5, and provide beveled faces39 upon these ribs. Iheribs will engage thecanermassand cause it to be carried by the ,beltbnt at the same time the beveled faces will permit theribs onslatsto llfissunderneath the cane in case the beltis rdriven'flfaster than the adjacent portion of the cane mass travels. ;The belt is also provided upon its under or inner face with a guiding spline comprising a plurality of spaced guiding lugs 40. These lugs are of substantial width, as shown in the transverse sectional view of Fig. 6, and are also spaced apart longitudinally of the belt, as shown in 'Fig. 5, so as to allow the belt to turn readily aboutthe drums 24 andl25 without resistance or buckling. These guide lugs are received in the annular grooves 32 at approximately the center of the drums, as shown in Fig. 4, and will pass between the spaced elements 34 which support the ,rollers 35.

Pivoted upon a rod 42 secured to the bearing plates 18 of the carrier frame isa scraper member '43, theupper active edge of which rests against the surface of the drum 24 between the runs of the belt so as to clean therefrom any material which may lodge thereon. This scraper is resiliently held against the drum'by a spring 44. A similar scraper 45 is pivoted upona rod 46 and its active edge is held against the surface of the driving drum 25 by a spring 47 so that these drums maybe kept free of extraneous material. Also a pair of scrapers .49 may be secured one at each side of the carrier frame. These scrapers will be inclined rearwardlyand outwardly with respect to the direction of travel of the conveyor so as to clean any materialfrom theinner surface (upper surface) of the lower run of the conveyor and cause it to be discharged through openings 50 in the side plates 17. These scrapers 49 may be secured in place'by brackets 51 secured to the carrier frame, and it will'be understood that there is one of them arranged at each side of theconveyor, the scrapers extending from the outer edge of the conveyor to substantiallythe central portion thereof.

While the invention has been described in, connection with acarrierbetween two stands of three-roll mills it is understood that it may also be employed in a carrier between-so-called crusher-units having =two'rolls each or between a crusher unitand a three-roll mill or in the main conductorto the tandem.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it 'is'not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is: I g

1. A carrier belt mechanism for transporting cane from one roll stand -to-another of a cane mill having spaced roll stands and cane-grinding rolls rotatably mounted therein, said mechanismcomprising a pair of'outer spaced longitudinally extending frame members, a carrier-drum rotatably suported at each end of said members between the same, eachof said drums having an annular recess therein intermediate its ends, a one-piece endless, rubber, liquid impervious, carrier belt trainedover said carrier drums, said belt having transversely extending spaced cane-impelling ribs on its outer surface, said ribs being formed integrally with the belt, longitudinally disposed splinemeans on the inner surface of the belt intermediate the side edges thereof to be received in said annular groovesinthe carrierdrums toprevent lateral movement of the ,belt onthe drums, a pair of spaced longitudinally extending inner frame members intermediate the outer frame members and supported by the latter, .and'beltsupporting rolls, each having one end rotatably carried by one of said outer frame members and the other end rotatably carried by one of said inner frame members to support the upperrun of the belt from below, the space between said inner framemembers permitting said spline means to pass between said members.

12. Aparrierbelt mechanism as in claim 1-wherein each of said outer-frame members is provided with adjustable bearing plates .at its ends in which the drums are rotatably mounted, said 'plates being adjustable longitudinallyof the frame elements.

3. ,A'ca'rrier belt mechanism as in claim 1 wherein a scraper is secured to each outer frame member and extendsinwardly in a directioninclined to the direction of travel 'oftheconveyor between theruns of the latter to cleanmaterial from the inner surface of the lower .run ofthe conveyor, and said outer frame members are provided with openings for discharge of said material.

- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS V 42,07,626 Sargent Sept. 3, 1878 1;5-4,-7,,27,6 Wentz July 28, 1925 1,779,686 Alver Qct. 28, 1930 1,933,485 Rundetal .Oct. 31, 1 933 2,305,044 Toews Dec. 15, 1.942 2,490,657 Toews May 21, 1946 2,563,427 Scott .Aug. 7,1951 2,619,222 Przybylski Nov. 25, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 770,320 France June 25, 1934 

